1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates lo a shift lever apparatus for automotive vehicles, and more specifically to a shift lever apparatus provided with a Park-position detecting switch to light up a parking lamp, for instance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional shift lever apparatus for an automotive vehicle provided with a Park-position detecting switch.
In the drawing, the apparatus comprises a shift lever support plate 56 fixed upright to an apparatus frame 52, a shift lever 51 pivotally supported via a pivotal shaft 53 by the support plate 56, a position pin 55 disposed movably along the axial direction of the shift ever 51, and a Park-position detecting switch 58 provided with a switch actuator 58a. In more detail, the support plate 56 is formed with a pin locating cutout 56a having shift positions of Park (P), Reverse (R), Neutral (N), Drive (D), Second (II) and First (I). The position pin 55 is engaged with the cutout 56a and urged upward by a spring (not shown) disposed within the shift lever 51 into contact with each of the above mentioned shift positions in the pin locating cutout 56a. The Park-position detecting switch 58 having a switch actuator 58a is fixed to the support plate 56 on the Park-position side thereof.
In operation, when the shift lever 51 is shifted to the Park (P) position, since the position pin 55 is urged upward by the spring (not shown) disposed within the shift lever 51 and therefore the switch actuator 58a is moved in the upward direction, the Park-position detecting switch 58 is turned on to light up a parking lamp, for instance so that the driver can confirm that the shift lever 51 has been securely shifted to the Park-position.
In general, in FIG. 1, the stroke S of the position pin 55 at the Park-position between when the pin 55 is in contact with the lower cutout side surface (the switch 58 is turned off) and when the pin 55 is in contact with the upper cutout side surface (the switch 58 is turned on) is different according to the shift lever apparatus or according to vehicle models. In the conventional shift lever apparatus, therefore, there exists a problem in that high-precious Park-position detecting switches 58 of various kinds having different actuation strokes must be prepared according to various vehicle models so that each actuation stroke of the Park-position detecting switch 58 matches each stroke of the position pin 55 at the Park-position within the pin locating cutout 56a of the support plate 56. In other words, it has been impossible to use the Park-position detecting switch in common for automatic transmissions of various models, thus preventing the standardization of the Park-position detecting switch and therefore increasing the stock or maintenance cost thereof.
In addition, since various parts such as illumination devices are usually mounted on the shift lever support plate 56 of the shift lever apparatus, it has been rather difficult to mount the Park-position detecting switch just near the pin locating cutout 56a or on the Park-position cutout side.